The Hamas terrorist organization welcomed the decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain on Wednesday to recognize a Palestinian state.
“We consider this an important step towards affirming our right to our land,” the group said in a statement, calling “on countries around the world to recognize our legitimate national rights.”
Bassem Naim, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau, attributed the decision to the “brave resistance” of the Palestinians.
“These successive recognitions are the direct result of this brave resistance and the legendary steadfastness of the Palestinian people. … We believe this will be a turning point in the international position on the Palestinian issue,” Naim told AFP.
The Palestinian Authority also expressed support for the decision, which will be implemented on May 28.
Israel called the move a reward for terrorism and the atrocities Hamas committed on Oct. 7.
“Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: Terrorism pays. After the Hamas terror organization carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing heinous sexual crimes witnessed by the world, these countries chose to reward Hamas and Iran by recognizing a Palestinian state,” tweeted Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
“This distorted step by these countries is an injustice to the memory of the victims of 7/10, a blow to efforts to return the 128 hostages, and a boost to Hamas and Iran’s jihadists, which undermines the chance for peace and questions Israel’s right to self-defense,” he added.
Meanwhile, close to three-fourths of the humanitarian aid transported from a new $320 million floating pier built by the U.S. military off the Gaza coast was stolen on Saturday en route to a U.N. warehouse, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Eleven trucks “were cleaned out by Palestinians” on the journey to the World Food Programme warehouse in Deir El Balah in the central Strip, with only five truckloads making it to the destination.
“They’ve not seen trucks for a while,” a U.N. official told Reuters. “They just basically mounted on the trucks and helped themselves to some of the food parcels.”
According to the United Nations, no aid was delivered to the warehouse from the U.S. military’s pier on Sunday and Monday.
The United Nations said that 10 truckloads of food aid from the pier arrived at the warehouse on Friday, its first day of operation. It was transported by U.N. contractors.
“We need to make sure that the necessary security and logistical arrangements are in place before we proceed,” said the U.N. official.
According to Israeli estimates, Hamas has been stealing up to 60% of the aid entering the Gaza Strip, and a Channel 12 report last week revealed that the terrorist organization has made at least $500 million in profit off humanitarian aid since the start of the war on Oct. 7.
The pier was pre-assembled at the Israeli port of Ashdod before being anchored to a beach in the coastal enclave on Thursday. No American troops went ashore during the installation of the pier, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Some 1,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors helped build the floating pier.
The Israel Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit announced on Saturday that “hundreds of pallets of humanitarian aid” and more than 160,000 liters of fuel had entered via the pier.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of CENTCOM, said that the goal is for 500 tons of humanitarian aid, or 90 trucks, to pass into Gaza through the pier daily, eventually increasing to 150 trucks a day.
CENTCOM tweeted early Tuesday that over 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance has been unloaded from the pier so far.
USAID and the U.S. Department of Defense are leading the effort, alongside Cyprus, the United Nations and international donors, including the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Romania and the European Union, CENTCOM said. The aid is transported via sea from Cyprus where it is screened, and the United Nations receives the aid in Gaza and coordinates its distribution.
Israel is also helping to facilitate the entry of aid via the pier.
Reuters also reported that “food and medicine for Palestinians in Gaza are piling up in Egypt because the Rafah crossing remains closed.”
Israel took operational control of the crossing weeks ago, but Cairo so far has refused to cooperate with Israeli authorities to facilitate the entry of aid through Rafah. The Israeli government wants to allow aid into Gaza through the crossing but is unable to do so without Egyptian cooperation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz last week placed the responsibility for averting a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip squarely on the shoulders of Egypt.
Katz said he had spoken with his British and German counterparts “about the need to persuade Egypt to reopen the Rafah Crossing to allow the continued delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
While the world places the responsibility for Gaza’s humanitarian situation on Israel, he added, “the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends.”
Originally published at JNS.org
Photo: Prophecy News Watch
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